Second World War: The London Blitz

Over the course of the war there were around 600 incidents of bomb damage to Sainsbury's stores.

The garage workshops, ‘kitchens’ and bacon stoves at the Blackfriars headquarters were also damaged. Sainsbury’s bacon stoves at Union Street were being used by the Ministry of Food to store fresh meat. Upon hearing the news of a direct hit to this building, Robert Sainsbury is reputed to have hitched a lift to the premises from a passing fire engine.

Four members of staff at the Marylebone branch were killed during a night raid on 19 September 1940 and it took five hours to rescue the other members of staff from the debris. Many of the London shops suffered damage on a smaller scale, but were able to continue trading.

London’s East End was particularly badly hit during the air raids and the branch at 66 Watney Street had to be closed when an unexploded bomb crashed through the wall of the adjacent Maypole Dairy. For several days, the shop traded from a stall set up on the street, with food delivered and collected daily by van.

Find out about the temporary 'shop in a church' at East Grinstead